In May, more than 90 members of
the 177th Fighter Wing journeyed
from Atlantic City, N.J., to Canadian
Forces Base Comox in British
Columbia, Canada to participate in
an international exercise that
involved fighter aircraft from the
United States and Canada and
AWACS aircraft from NATO.

Designed as an air and sea
defense exercise, Exercise Trident
Fury was the largest of its kind to
take place off the coast and in the
airspace over Vancouver Island,
British Columbia.

In addition to the various aircraft,
the naval exercises included five
Canadian Navy warships, five
Canadian Coast Guard cutters and
three ships from the U.S. Navy.

The exercise was considered
a success because
it allowed dis-similar aircraft to fly and fight against
each other as well as against naval targets. A learning experience
for American and Canadian units,
both nations’ military are already planning for additional
exercises like Trident Fury in the future.

The 177th Civil Engineering Squadron (CES)
conducted a mock “mini-war” in its annual
cantonment, held during the May UTA.

With a table of scenarios designed by Disaster
Preparedness, the entire CE Squadron participated
in various battlefield scenarios that contained real
world training for personnel deploying in future AEF
rotations. Eighty-two CE members received support
from the 177th Security Forces Squadron (who acted
as aggressors) and the 177th Services Flight, which
provided the evening meal for CE as they remained
overnight in their cantonment.

The exercise planners created conditions that
unit members could expect to encounter while
deployed to the Middle East.